The IT workforce in the East Midlands is 77,546, including

• 32,010 employees in the IT industry
• 45,536 IT professionals working in other sectors

The regional IT workforce is a relatively small workforce compared to the other English regions.  In comparison to other English regions, there is a higher proportion of IT professionals working in other sectors in the region.  The regions share of UK IT employment is expected to grow over the next ten years.

Only 7% of companies in the East Midlands reported that their IT professionals are less than 100% proficient, compared to 9% in the UK. There is a lower proportion of companies with IT vacancies (7%) than in Great Britain (17%).  Hard-to-fill vacancies in the region are reported for web-support staff and technicians/engineers.

The most common IT professional job role in the region is ‘ICT Manager’ which differs from the UK as a whole.  There are significant skills gaps in the development and implementation of IT systems and services in the region.  Similar to other English regions, skills in systems architecture will be in future demand in the region.

There are 12 Higher Education Institutions offering QAA (Quality Assurance Agency) accredited courses in Computing or Computer Science which are located around Nottingham.  The region attracted 7.4% of graduates who entered the UK IT workforce within six months of graduation.

Source: e-skills UK East Midlands regional report 2005a